Summary
While it is no surprise that authorStephen King’s many novels and short stories are seeing a resurgence in recent years thanks to a slew of hit films and television series adaptations, including an upcoming adaptation of his first novel,Carrie, by none other than Mike Flanagan, there has been one series that fans have waited decades to see properly adapted, and that isThe Dark Tower. A tale of a lone gunslinger who must learn to embrace his humanity again while on a quest for the fabled Dark Tower to stop the mad Crimson King, the series spans 8 novels, several graphic novels and short stories, and several interconnected moments across many of King’s other novels. Yet through all of these stories, the one question people often forget to ask themselves is, what exactly is The Dark Tower?
While the main driving force behind the seriesis the story of Roland Deschain, the last of the gunslingers, and his fight to reach the Dark Tower, the importance of the Dark Tower is a mystery that is slowly unraveled throughout the series. From how the tower was formed, to what its true purpose is, and how it is connected to the rest of the Stephen King multiverse, there are so many questions left unanswered for the uninitiated, so the time has come to explore the actual Dark Tower.
Stephen King’s Titular Dark Tower, EXPLAINED
Delving deep into the actual Dark Tower, the building itself was almost entirely magical in its beginning. Legends say the Tower and its beams holding the Dark Tower in place were made of energy, and were thought to be the body of GAN, the god-level entity of the Stephen King multiverse who was said to have spawned all creation. This would make sense with the Dark Tower’s role in the multiverse, but more on that later. The tower was meant to stand for all eternity unimpeded, but soon that all changed when a civilization rose to power that thought to challenge the Tower’s hold on the universe.
That civilization would be known as the Great Old Ones, who began tampering with the beams by replacing them with technological ones, ones that would be vulnerable to breaking down eventually. They are also responsible for connecting the world surrounding the Dark Tower to other worlds that the Great Old Ones would visit, especially horrible worlds where great tragedies befell civilization. Some of these worlds they visited for entertainment, while others they visited to conduct business that furthered their own goals.
They eventually tried to break down the Dark Tower and replace it with a technologically-driven towerunder the guidance of Maelryn, the evil wizard and agent of chaos who sought to release the PRIM once more (the primordial energy that existed before the multiverse). Cracks formed in the ground when they attempted this, releasing monstrous creatures, from demons to shape-shifting creatures like Pennywise the Dancing Clown (or Dandelo, a similar creature inthe Dark Towerseries). Seeing their error, the Great Old Ones tried to make amends by placing giant robotic guardians at the end of each of the twelve beams to protect the Dark Tower.
One of the most distinctive features of the Dark Tower is the massive field of roses that grows around it. Known by the name Can’-Ka No Rey, these roses represent the Dark Tower’s twinner, or other half, in what is known as Keystone Earth, the rose that grows in the empty lot in New York City, which is surrounded by buildings that look like towers themselves. The roses bloom with the light of a thousand suns at their core. The Dark Tower is also a six-hundred-floor spire made of black stone, and has only one entrance, a door made of ghostwood with the words UNFOUND written over it. That is the doorRoland has sought from the very beginning of his journey.
The Dark Tower’s Purpose And Connections
At its core, the Dark Tower is the axis on which all reality hinges. It is the center of the multiverse, in other words, and its existence is the only thing that keeps the wild chaos of the PRIM from returning to the multiverse and destroying all life as it is known.That is why the Crimson Kinghas set his sights on the Dark Tower, for his goal is to return the universe to the PRIM and rule over the chaotic mess that the universe becomes. That is why he has used his agents to find breakers, or powerful psychics and telekinetic beings who can topple the beams holding the Dark Tower in place.
The Dark Tower is also connected to many things throughout Stephen King’s many books, including the infamous Black House in the book of the same name byhttps://gamerant.com/mike-flanagan-dark-tower-develop-gunslinger-roland-tragic-past/Stephen King and Peter Straub. It has also taken the shape of a tiger, and each floor in its core represents different worlds and different figures that it has connected with over time. Roland seeks to climb this tower, believing the top to be occupied by either GAN or a demonic force, and demand answers to the trauma he has been forced to endure, as well as others in its name.
Only those who wield the artifacts or weaponsconnected to Arthur Eld, the first ruler and leader of Gilead and founder of the order that would become the gunslingers, can open the door to the Dark Tower. It is said the Dark Tower bestowed Arthur with these weapons, the very weapons Roland wields on his journey. In many ways, the Dark Tower represents the ultimate question everyone must ask themselves, which is what their purpose in life truly is, for as Stephen King says inthe Dark Tower, “All Things Serve the Beam.”
